Smart Consumers Ignore Smart TVs (but buy them anyway)

Share
Author

By Duncan Parry, Head of Digital Sales

May 24, 2013 | 4 min read

YouGov have released the results of a survey about Smart TVs which confirms what I've suspected for a while – the public aren't interested in using them to connect to the Internet. That's not to say the British public don't want content and services via their TVs – they do, in increasing numbers. But "smart" or "connected" TVs simply don't cut it. Instead, consumers are plugging their laptop or tablet into their TV or using their set-top box with their TV screen to get online.

YouGov's main findings:

  • 50% of UK consumers like the idea of accessing online content through their televisions
  • 13% of the population owned a Smart TV in Q1 2013
  • Fewer than half this number (6%) currently use a Smart TV devices as their primary means of accessing online content
  • Amongst on-demand viewers, (37% prefer to watch through a set-top box (Sky, Virgin or YouView) while fewer than one in ten (7%) watch through a Smart TV
  • Consumers are connecting their TVs through other devices, with laptops (24%) and desktop computers (12%) being the most popular.

The article on YouGov continues to discuss that the biggest challenge for manufacturers is that consumers don't buy Smart TVs because they are Smart TVs - 51% were purchased because the consumer wants an up-to-date TV and a quarter because their old set was broken. Fewer than half of Smart TV owners actually use the set to go online regularly.

Any significant revenues the manufacturers hoped to gain from services on the platform don't exist, at least in the UK.

Reading this led me to examine Google trends for smart TV related searches:

Google Trends for "Smart TVs" and "Smart TV" web searches in the UK So interest has grown over the last few years and Christmas 2012 saw a surge as consumers bought TVs for their Christmas viewing or took advantage of the sales period. However this only demonstrates a trend over time; there's no indication of volume. Hoping over to the the Google Keyword Tool confirmed that the concept of "Smart TVs" has driven significant search volumes and that is the dominant phrase for describing the product category:

Google Keyword Tool

Google keyword tool volumes for "Smart TVs" and related web searches on desktops and mobiles in the UK - exact match data.So the public do know what Smart TVs are, are searching for them, and buying them after searching for Smart TV keywords. However, they are not then using them for the purpose of connecting to the Internet through their built-in features. The TV manufacturers have done the job of marketing the concept – but the reality of using the devices isn't appealing and consumers are increasingly already signed up for the services they offer - e.g. NetFlix – already.Consumers are the smart ones, using devices they already own and are familiar with, plugged into their TVs – and turning to search to find out how:

Google Trends

Google Trends for "connect TV laptop", "connect computer TV" "cable laptop TV" and "connect iPad TV" web searches in the UK. Spikes are the Christmas period.

Trending

Industry insights

View all
Add your own content +